Is ken Kennedy really the future of the wwe?
 

I personally dont think so- He just hasn't got that "it" factor that makes a viewer want to put on the television

thoughts/comments?

Fuck off Noob.

I thought his whole allure WAS his 'it' factor. Agree to disagree.

Who is the alternative right now?

Is Chris Masters the future of the WWE? Carlito? Lashley?

Ken Kennedy is the man. He is one of the new generation that may save the WWE from itself.

but that may be a tall order.

...Kennedy.

But seriously, he has as much of a chance that Cena, Orton, and Batista had, and they went no where.

I'd say the real future is in the guys like Nitro, MVP and the like. Most people are pretty neutral or positive on them at the moment. Who knows, in a few years one of them could be as big as The Rock was when he started to really get over.

Has there ever been a thread that asks the question about the next big stars in WWE? kinda like how Rocky, HHH, Austin and the like were just itching to break through during that golden time?

Nah. Never. Only 846 times. But other than that, never.

I think MVP is going to be the "guy" at some point and I can see him being as big as The Rock. I think Orton can still be big, but he has set himself back to much to carry the company I think. Kennedy, Nitro, and Punk will all be up there but if I had to put money on one guy, it'd be MVP.

I honestly think Chris Masters is gonna surprise a lot of people in the future. You're all fans. You just don't know it yet.

I don't see anyone in the WWE being the next big superstar, not on WWE's current product anyways. Theres a few guys I'm high on, and like alot, but being the next Rock, or Stone Cold, I don't see anyone who could pull it off anytime soon.

Masters is gonna have to get a lot better, and fast, if he is. I think he's falling behind Kennedy, Nitro, MVP, Punk, etc...He's the only one of that generation NOT doing anything right now.

Unless a drastic booking change (as in the entire current team is taken out of control) happens Punk will NEVER be seen as someone who could carry the company by people in WWE.

Masters HAS gotten a lot better, really. Think of the Stevie Richards nose-breaking days compared to now. I think he's come a long way. I think that steroid test fucked him up a bit and drained all of his momentum, but it's not impossible to rebound. He's about to wreck shop on Smackdown. That's my prediction anyway.

WWE needs to stop bringing up green fucks. Masters could have been huge by now had he spent more time in OVW and worked on some shit.

That goes for a lot of the new guys they've been bringing up for the last two years or so.

I don't think Punk will be the 'guy', but I think he'll be one of those guys that walks the line of upper card-main event and maybe has one or two brief title runs. I'll agree that Masters has improved, but he is still behind alot of other guys of his generation right now. Nitro is the ECW champ, Kennedy is getting a Main Event Push, MVP is US Champ...Masters is...? MAYBE going to get a push on Smackdown. Smackdown is pretty heel-heavy right now though...is there room on the card for a big push on Masters?

Masters was ALMOST an Intercontinental champion, damn it!

Masters will do nothing special with his career, I don't see him ever moving past Mid-Card before his release.

Agreed. He'll be their go-to guy for when they have a gap in the upper roster and/or need a good temporary feud. As far as title runs, yeah, I could see him being a transitional champion.

Khali was ALMOST a WWE Champion.

:shifty:

If a top star gets hurt, Punk is the guy that gets the temporary push and title reign...until the top star gets back and then he'll be promptly booted back down.

Exactly.

I could see Punk bringing something good to the IC title. Give him the title and give him a long run, maybe trading it a few times just to get him more over. He could do wonders to bring that back to where it once was.

Yeh, they need solid guys in the mid card. The mid card titles are all virtually worthless. The US Title is the only that has any sort of value at the moment, I think.

Here's an idea: Vince should break out the chequebook and bring Styles,Daniels and Joe to the wwe.

Ah, a TNA mark, it figures.

Styles and Daniels would bring nothing to the WWE that they would want. They would be stuffed in the Cruiserweight division and job on a weekly basis.

Joe would maybe make it for a little while, but would eventually be put into a feud with Umaga and be jobbed out.

Yup, it's just that easy. Shut up.

Kennedy is gonna be the top man one day. Reports are he is very respectful to everyone and is willing to learn. All the guys like him. His ring work in solid and he can talk so he has a great chance.

And besides, WWE doesn't need to keep bringing in new guys. They have a roster of like 80+. They need to build who they have before going for outside "help".

Half the WWE roster could make it huge if WWE booked them properly. They can work, they can talk, but they don't get the pushes they need.

I don't know...I have high hopes for Ken Kennedy and my new favorite wrestler Johnny Nitro. Carlito was really becoming a favorite of mine for awhile but kid of just died in the mid cards. Also I really liked John Cena for a time like he was the next big thing...I actually still think he's got the "it" factor, but really needs a heel turn before anyone likes him again. When he's not being shoved down our throats, he'll be over again with fans (like The Rock).

As far as Cena goes, and I've been saying this for months, he needs a more serious gimmick. If he dropped the rap and gangster shit and made him a Franchise-like character I think he could get over huge. That's how I would turn him - make him exactly the opposite of what he is today. A bad ass who thinks he's the best in the business, not a puss going around telling gay jokes and having Hogan matches.

You wouldn't have to lose the thug thing entirely, but he needs a more serious and realistic heel gimmick. Then, after a (long) heel run, turn him face, maybe bring back SOME aspects of his current gimmick, and make him a marketing machine again but with a wider appeal.

The WWE is worried about the short-term only, which is probably the biggest reason why they haven't turned him. If they were looking three, four, and even more than five years into the future they would see that turning him heel and even reinventing him and then back face again could jump start his popularity.

There's a problem though, Cena has limited talent.

Cena is so overrated it is sickening- he is a midcard wrestler at best.

I see your point xero about the wwe developing the talent they have- Would Jeff Hardy have any credibility as champ? i cant see why not

Pretty sure Triple H wouildn't like somebody with his exact gimmick.

Cause it's not like Triple H would rip anyone off.

Let's look at some of the greatest sports entertainers of the past twenty years.

Ric Flair: Great wrestler, great promo, great character. The total package.

Hulk Hogan: Great on the mic, shitty in the ring, good character.

Shawn Michaels: Good wrestler, good promo, great characters arguably ending at his current character.

The Undertaker: All character.

Austin: All character. He COULD wrestle, but all he had to do was raise hell, throw a few punches and hit a Jawbreaker and people went nuts.

Rock: Again, all character. He wasn't that great of a wrestler either. He wasn't BAD, but he wasn't one of the better men in the ring.

Triple H: Very good wrestler, great promo, great characters.

Kurt Angle: Great wrestler, great promo, great characters. The total package.

Cena: Not a great wrestler, can do great promos when he's not throwing out gay jokes every ten seconds, great brawler.

Two of the nine listed here got over on "wrestling". The rest mainly relied on character. Give Cena a decent serious character and he could be huge.

LOL, no. That ship sailed about three years ago.

Why is Shawn Michaels not listed as a great wrestler, and should be on the top of that list.

Anybody can be credible with the right booking. Nobody besides the IWC remember who somebody lost to in 2002.

J.R. would rememeber....

I tried to do it in eras so it's not in any "best-of" order and I never considered him one of the best wrestlers. He's one of the greatest entertainers, not wrestlers.

Actually... Carlito could do it. But ain't he still in the doghouse? Plus he needs his "cool" heel gimmick again... not this lame "I'm a bad guy" heel thing.

Michaels is great across the board.

That is the problem in WWE right now. They need real bookers. Writers want to do shit that has no chance of getting over in a wrestling enviroment because it got over in sitcoms. Bookers do shit that will put asses in seats and entertain wrestling fans.

Yes, wrestling needs a wide appeal to maximize business but the bottom line is putting asses in seats and eyes on televisions through a good overall product. Storylines are invented to build interest in the "big match" to maximize the money made off the big match. If it is just storylines with no big match then there is no point.

Example: Lance Storm's HUGE DICK! How could that be used to draw? Besides a cheap laugh that would get old after 3 weeks, there would be no entertainment value and no money that could be made off of it.

The whole Austin/McMahon storylines led to the big match at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Cage Match. Then they used Austin/McMahon to be the foundation for Rock/Austin which led to several big matches through the twists and turns (this made HUGE FUCKING MONEY and a SHITLOAD OF ENTERTAINMENT).

This focus on the storylines over the actual matches themselves has led the WWE into its position now. If it was all wrestling, then ROH would be on top of the world. If it was all show, WWE wouldn't be in the "down period" they are now. I am probably preaching to the choir but the fact is that WWE needs more than 3 or 4 people in writing who understand this concept.

Are you serious?

... what? :|

100%.

He has entertaining matches, I'm not denying that. And I do find him very entertaining. But when compared to other greats he doesn't match up as far as I'm concerned. He's in the higher tier, but not the highest where wrestlers like Angle, Flair and Bret Hart reside from an in-ring aspect standpoint.

Of course, this can be debated for years whether he was or wasn't the absolute best wrestler ever. I'm sure someone else thinks there NO better wrestler than Shawn Michaels, that he's the be-all and end-all. To me, he isn't.

You judge by pure technical wrestling skills. Shawn Michaels was not the greatest technical wrestlers, but Shawn Michaels could wrestle any style and could work with any style.

I would be one of those "be all and end all" people.

Just to clarify though... you did put him on the list as simply being a "good" wrestler even though you said he is in the higher tier of wrestlers.

So... not great? Just good? Are we sticking with that?

Actually agree. I always find his matches entertaining as hell, but I've never thought he was a complete total package. Like a Benoit or Angle. Surprised I'm not the only one who feels that way.

... Did you just call Benoit a complete total package?

Could you please calrify because, maybe I'm just thinking of how "total package" has been used so far in this topic but it sounds like you're implying he had more than just pure wrestling skill.

I'm just talking ring skill.

That's not really a total package though. Benoit was the goods, but he was no total package.

Good, not great.

Incorrect, I was judging overall. Michaels doesn't really shine in anything other than his main high-flying and faster spots.

Kurt Angle, for example, is (in some things way) above above average in (almost) everything he does in the ring. Brawling, submission, grappling, "wrestling". The only thing he isn't above average in is his top rope spots, but he can do that well too.

Again, Michaels has his high and faster spots, and arguably his selling, but other than that he's average at best (from a "pro wrestling" standpoint) which is why I say he's a great sports entertainer, not wrestler.

Blasphemy!!!!

I disagree. Not like, vehemently so, but Michaels is pretty damn great in every vein of wrestling. Stylistically, he's great. He's still primarily an entertainer, but that's not to dismiss his skills in different wrestling styles.

He could work against anyone in WWE with their style but I don't know if he work the Lucha or Japanese style or the old European style either.

He could work the 4 major styles with ease. Only a few guys could. If he could have had the charisma of Steve Austin, he would have been the biggest star in the business.

NOBODY can argue that Shawn Michaels isn't in the top 5 best wrestlers in the WWE in the last 20 years.

If he had the charisma of Steve Austin? HBK didn't have charisma?

Rob, did you just say HBK couldn't wrestle the "lucha libre style"? He brought that style to mainstream wrestling in the 90s (before ECW brought in 100% lucha wrestlers). After all his injuries, he couldn't work it.

He also said "If he could have had the charisma of Steve Austin, he would have been the biggest star in the business".

Maybe people forget he was, and had to retire for 4 years from back injuries and such, Michaels has been a great worker his whole career, and still is.

Wow this has gone way off topic.

As for Mr. Kennedy being a top guy, upper mid-carder no doubt about it, but he's to injury prone to be "The Guy."

Agreed.

Of course he did. But Benoit's style is more suited to Austin's charisma than Michaels'.


No he didn't. He did some fast paced flying moves but it's not lucha. The Mexicans learn lucha on day one and the adapted it to something that the American audiences would love to see and understand. You should lucha to the average fan and they wouldn't understand it.

Randy Orton will the Scott Hall of our generation. He will fuck up way too much for WWE to imajorly invest in him ever again.

I'm pretty sure HBK could pull off a great match with someone like Paul London. His match with Rey Mysterio on the Eddie tribute Raw would have been spectcular if given more time.

That old European style comment though makes me think about Regal being on Raw and the slight possibility of a Regal vs. HBK non-squash down the road. :drool:

Everything it takes. :y:

Fuck that. They've already proved that they're gonna invest in him, no matter how much he fucks up. Right now, they can't afford not to push him (In their eyes).

People said the same about the Rock too.

while I really loved the HBK that was right after the rockers, I am not quite suer that he brought the mainstream lucha style into our homes. I thought that it was XPac.

I like Kennedys potential

Speaking of HBK, I hope his 3 disc set coming out in Nov has tons of great matches on it

People primarily attacked the Rock for only haveing five moves. Which was a bit more valid at that point than it is now, but still, primarily ignores the fact that entertainers are more valued than straight up wrestlers.

Paul London doesn't work lucha style. Neither does Mysterio in the WWE.

Important distinction, yes. Michaels can work great matches with high flyers and fast movers. But that doesn't immediately equal Lucha Libre. Not that there's anything wrong with London's style. Just that it's wrong.

X-pac did not bring the lucha style to America. If we're going to start naming people, Pillman is at the top of that list. Flyin Brian of the early 90's wrestled that style in WCW and had spotlight matches that audiences adored. And I have to mention Liger as well.

As far as HBK goes, he's always been an awesome wrestler. Not a technical or chain wrestler, but that's not all wrestling. He was never a submission hold kind of guy, but had an variety of moves he worked with. He adapted so well with everyone.

Michaels was doing flying spots long before Pillman and Liger were in the states.

Doesn't matter anyway because a few high spots don't make it a lucha style. You need to watch some proper lucha matches to notice the styles. Youtube search "mistico" or something.

Kennedy is Wrestling.

Tag that TNA.

Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Elijah Burke>TNA.

flyin brian...

good point. Well, more on subject, I think that kennedy will be a part of the future, but he'll need a good foil. He works as a heel, not a tweener. I mean full on, asshole heel. I hate to admit it, but Orton will be our Hall, but even that is a compliment cause Hall is one of the Best Fuck Ups in History. Hopefully, We can get a Young face out of Burke, Punk, or even Nitro that will work at the top for years to come.

I still love the fact that diehard TNA fans are saying WWE has no young stars.

But Rob, Jimmy Snuka and Dynamite Kid were doing flying spots long before Micheals.

As far as lucha style, which style? Tecnico (sp?) or Rudo? Eddie's style was more Rudo-style Lucha Libre than anything else.

That reminds me, I need to get that book on Lucha Libre.

As far as X-Pac goes, I feel he was one of the first guys, along with RVD, to bring the more Puro-based striking style into the U.S. Great Muta and Jushin Liger set the stage on their brief (and in Muta's case, numerous) runs, he just seemed to incorporate it in such a way that made him a trailblazer. Before anyone says "X-Pac Sucks," keep in mind that he was one of the best Juniors in the World as Lightning Kid in the GWF.

You realize that you dishonor the greatest wrestling legend of all time?
I DON'T KNOWWWWWW!

If Kennedy isnt the future of the wwe well then who is?

Cena has been with the title for the last few years or so and really hasnt made that much of the impact. Only wreslers who are insanilly over have the title for that long of a time and Cena isnt that so you would have to assume his era is almost over.

Batista is getting too old and I can only see him a tranistional champ from now on if any.

HHH, HBK, Edge, Undertaker and Booker T could all get title runs in the future but only limited as they would be a heel or a tranistional face run.

I still think Carlitto could be huge but the wwe have got to give him more of a go and Carlitto has got to soften his stance.

Punk is a big maybe he could be huge but he could be the next chirs jericho (careir wise).

That really leaves Kennedy. He is over and he has the most charisma since the rock.

He's no longer the Total Package. By God, he's the biggest Legend-Star in this business!

He will be the future, but he needs somebody to feud with or else he'll be like Cena.